in my 7th bread attempt i was once again making sweet bread. ingredients were the same as last time, except i used nonsalted butter, craisins instead of raisins, and a full tbsp of baking yeast (a normal packet just contains 2 tsp, i used about a tsp more). i also added about 1.5 tsp of fresh ginger pureed with a cheese grater. due to the high yeast concentration the bread rose so much that it nearly hit the glass window of the bread machine. adding an egg to the mix is definitely the way to go, creating softer loafs that seem more like bread than rock. the top of the bread was round and soft just like last time, but got completely smooshed when i inverted the pan to dump out the bread. i couldn't taste the ginger anywhere (just like i can't taste the vanilla i added either).

no gravel vacuuming necessary today and still no guppy fries yet. i've seen online instructions for a DIY fish cave made from half a pvc pipe covered with gravel. maybe i can give that a try, at least it won't look any worse than the plastic solo cup cave i'm using now.

armed with fresh bread, i went to the cafe to pick up my father and went to my parents' place for dinner. in the bathroom they'd already installed their brand new heated toilet seat/bidet. i sat on it for a second (with my pants on) to test out how warm it was. the only other time i've seen a heated toilet seat at an american house was when we visited our family friend in lincoln (of course they're quite common in japan). as for me, i'm happy with my non-electronic toilet seat and the fact that it doesn't squirt water at me.

the NFL playoffs leave more heartaches than happiness. tonight i know what fans of the eagles, the cowboys, the ravens, the chiefs, the seahawks, the jets, the chargers, the giants, and the saints have been feeling the past few weeks, the anguish of seeing your home team lose. unfortunately there can only be one winning team and regrettably that team will not be the patriots this year. pats fans have had our days in the sun, and some might say more so than others. in 5 years we've won 3 superbowl championships, that's not a bad record. but i so badly wanted another patriots parade! (past pats parades: 2002 2004 2005) god knows when's the next time the red sox are going to win the world series again. experience won over talent last sunday against the chargers, but tonight talent trumped experience. the patriots were doing so well in the first half, i was already ready to celebrate. but then the colts came back, and the second half patriots weren't the same, it felt like they were waiting for the game to end while the colts played more aggressively and tied everything up, eventually winning the game. at least adam vinatieri wasn't a factor. i would've hate to see former patriots hero kick the winning goal against his old team within the final seconds of the game. now i don't who wins the superbowl now. if i wasn't a bitter man i'd pick the colts, but with the loss still fresh in my mind, i want to say the bears (colts will probably win anyway, the NFC isn't as powerful as the AFC, in my opinion). all i know is football no longer has a stranglehold over my soul and i'm finally free to pursue other sunday activities.

at least there was a new battlescar galactifart tonight. in the commercial they hinted at the death of a major character. okay, but here's the thing: if it's a cylon character, if s/he dies, s/he'll "download" and regenerate again. so that's what i thought would happen tonight, but in the end, they really did write off a major character. every episode i think they're going to jump the shark but they never do. now they have hera (the hybrid baby), cylon six, and baltar. next episode is going to be very interesting. there's probably going to be some torture. looking forward to it!